The $93 Million Tortoise

Forget bears and wolves--more federal money was spent protecting the endangered Mojave tortoise

Champions of protecting wildlife often use the cuddliest, furriest animals as mascots—you know, bears, wolves, pikas, and the like. But very quietly, while you were donating money to save those marquee mammals, a shy desert tortoise has been very busy siphoning off the money you thought would go to baby seals. Over the last 11 years, federal and state wildlife agencies spent more than $93 million protecting the endangered Mojave tortoise—that's far more than they've spent on iconic animals like grizzlies, wolves, or bald eagles.

But before you go and drop-kick your kid brother's pet box turtle, maybe you should think about socking it to salmon instead: Hundreds of millions have been spent protecting the embattled fish of the Pacific Northwest since budget reporting on individual species began in 1996. In fact, fish command more bling than almost all threatened land dwellers; at $39 million, the pallid sturgeon commanded last year's priciest species recovery program.

That makes the $11 million spent on Mojave tortoise recovery look like a bargain, especially considering the difficult-to-manage reptile lives in sparse numbers across an immense range that includes Utah, California, Nevada, and Arizona. Part of the budget included using the U.S. Army to airlift several turtles out of an area of the desert planned for a military base expansion.

While turtles sometimes get helicopter rides, endangered plants got the biggest dis: Officials awarded a whopping $6 to help recover a rare Utah herb called the Barneby reed-mustard. Ouch.

—Ted Alvarez

$93 Million spent on endangered tortoise (AZ Central)

Image Credit: Chris Selvig

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READERS COMMENTS

He got the names right. There are Mojave and Sonoran desert tortoises, along with subpopulations like the Beaver Dam Slope population of Mojave desert tortoises. And fyi (tool), tortoises are actually a type of land-adapted turtle. To call them turtles is technically correct. Tortoise biologists use it as a slang term all the time.

However, you're correct that the airlift benefited army expansion, not tortoises. And the military is way hungry for war game ranges in the west (like they don't have enough already). Relocated tortoises usually die simply because they can't scout and adapt to new range fast enough. And much of the $93 million was to fight off lawsuits and adapt to the demands of Southwest developers.

Southwest tortoise populations have been plunging since the 1940's. They are at 10% or less of their historic population levels, mostly as the result of habitat loss, foolish pet captures, and pasturella infections that come from people and domestic dogs. Released captives transmit the disease to wild populations with 90%-plus die-off. Hence it's illegal to release captive desert tortoises back to the wild.
Posted: Jan 21, 2009 Jan29

At least get the name right, tool. It's the Mojave population of the desert tortoise (as opposed to the Sonoran population). The Army "airlift" of the tortoise (not turtle, tortoise) was to help the Army, not the tortoise, unless you similarly think of people kicked out of their homes to build strip malls or whatever also as "beneficiaries."
Posted: Jan 21, 2009 SteveDL36